Single dose vax in CT

[sassyfirechick]

How hard is it for doctors to get single dose vaccines?  I ask this because we chose our pedi after meeting with her and she was very open to splitting vax.  I delayed my daughter's Hep B to her first Dr appt and not in the hospital (although now I'm learning more and more that she didn't need it in the first place since there were no risk factors and prob will decline on future kiddos), but ather 2mo appt, I thought I would be given a choice and was planning to ok the DTaP....well turns out they no longer use DTaP alone, it's now a 5 way vax which also includes IPV and Hib.  I think my jaw hit the ground when I heard her say 5 way, and on top of that was the single dose pneumococcal, and the oral rotavirus.  I totally blanked an ok'd them all, then freaked out afterwards.  She had a low grade fever few hrs later that went away, but since then (appt was on tues) she has been a mess.  Screaming out for no apparent reason, waking 3-4x a night (she was sleeping 9hrs prior) and poor kid has the worst diarrhea from the rota :-(   Luckily I'm proactive about things so I got her into her chiropractor the next day and was able to pick up some baby probiotics to mix into her night bottle (I breastfeed but pump at night so hubby can feed before bed).  I've been researching non-stop about what vax I'm comf doing/continuing and I'd rather stick to the DTaP but on a much more delayed schedule and forget the others, but in reality if I ask for that particular vax is it easily available?

Also, anyone in CT use religious exemption?  I want to send her to the montessori school in town, it's a catholic montessori (any religion can attend, it's not part of the curriculum) so i'm not exactly sure how an exemption will work out.

Thanks!

[Taximom5]

Single vaccines as opposed to combination vaccines are more expensive. Health insurance will only reimburse the doctor for the one combo shot.

You may also be interested to know that single-use vaccines (unpreserved, individual-dose, pre-filled syringes) are also much more expensive than multi-use, thimerosal-preserved vials, which is why 90% of the flu shots available are NOT thimerosal-free.

[nia82]

It depends on the office. We had an easy time finding that. Our insurance doesn't care (Tricare), so far no complaints. We use a family practice residency program office, all residents, the office manager is a pro-delay-select nurse who orders whatever brands the parents want. The younger doctors are very open minded and respectful. 

[emmy526]

Originally Posted by sassyfirechick 

Also, anyone in CT use religious exemption?  I want to send her to the montessori school in town, it's a catholic montessori (any religion can attend, it's not part of the curriculum) so i'm not exactly sure how an exemption will work out.

Thanks!

I have used the religious exemption in Ct for 14 yrs now..i just called the Dept of Health in hartford and they sent me a form and that was it...i havent been bothered since.  Apparently the exemption travels from school to school as well, no new school questioned me. 

[Marnica]

It sounds like you are doing selective vaxing. You cannot do this and claim a religious exemption in CT. Its all or nothing. Although you could do all that you intend to do BEFORE your child goes to school and then claim one, (citing a change in beliefs) but you can't then go on and vax that child or any future children.

I filed an exemption in CT for DS for preschool this fall for the first time with no issues. (we are no -vax however) In fact I was pleasantly surprised that she school included both the medical exemption form and the religious exemption form in the registration packet.

[Isasmom]

Just out of curiosity, if one did claim a religious exemption and then went on to selectively vax, how would the state find out? Isn't it possible to get vaccinations at walk in clinics, for example? 

[emmy526]

i don't think the state would find out.  How would they?  its not like they are going to check every exemption with every clinic in the state to see who gave what vaccines to whom, when they supposedly had a religious exemption.  If a person wanted to vax, i'd say just keep a separate immunization card for your own records.  Theres no need to turn it into anyone, and that way too, if an injury should happen and call for an ER visit, you have the card to bring with you so unnecessary vaccines can be avoided. 

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by Isasmom 

Just out of curiosity, if one did claim a religious exemption and then went on to selectively vax, how would the state find out? Isn't it possible to get vaccinations at walk in clinics, for example? 

 If the child is enrolled in the state vaccine registry they could easily find out....Unless you go to another state to obtain the vaccines. Some states you are automatically enrolled and you have to opt out. Some states do not give you the option of opting out. In CT you have to opt out.

The other issue with this is that if you file an exemption and then go vax on the sly, your child will still be excluded from school for a potentially lenghty period of time in the event of an outbreak, so one would need to be prepared and be ok with that.

[Isasmom]

Ok. I was just curious!

[mattemma04]

oooooooooooooooooo

Edited by mattemma04 - 4/21/12 at 2:54pm

[sassyfirechick]

Thanks, we did opt out of the vaccine registry...I'm pretty against anything that would allow someone to look into my business at will!  I do understand the risks of outbreaks and that it may mean some home schooling during that time and I'm absolutely ok with that.  Knowing what I've learned in the short time with my DD I will definitely be leaning more towards no vax with future kids.  DH was the biggest hurdle but he's coming around quickly after he learned of a friend who had a life threatening, permanently debilitating vax reaction.  I'm all for titering before boostering, it's what I do with my dogs (the main reason I started to move away from vax was their horrible reactions).